The Khalsa and the Non-Khalsa Within the Sikh Community in Malaysia

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 2017, Vol. 7, No. 8 ISSN: 2222-6990 The Khalsa and the Non-Khalsa within the Sikh Community in Malaysia Aman Daima Md. Zain1, Jaffary, Awang2, Rahimah Embong 1, Syed Mohd Hafiz Syed Omar1, Safri Ali1 1 Faculty of Islamic Contemporary Studies, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) Malaysia 2 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia DOI: 10.6007/IJARBSS/v7-i8/3222 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v7-i8/3222 Abstract In the pluralistic society of Malaysia, the Sikh community are categorised as an ethnic minority. They are considered as a community that share the same religion, culture and language. Despite of these similarities, they have differences in terms of their obedience to the Sikh practices. The differences could be recognized based on their division into two distintive groups namely Khalsa and non-Khalsa. The Khalsa is distinguished by baptism ceremony called as amrit sanskar, a ceremony that makes the Khalsa members bound to the strict codes of five karkas (5K), adherence to four religious prohibitions and other Sikh practices. On the other hand, the non-Khalsa individuals have flexibility to comply with these regulations, although the Sikhism requires them to undergo the amrit sanskar ceremony and become a member of Khalsa. However the existence of these two groups does not prevent them from working and living together in their religious and social spheres. This article aims to reveal the conditions of the Sikh community as a minority living in the pluralistic society in Malaysia. The method used is document analysis and interviews for collecting data needed. Keywords: Sikhism; Khalsa; amrit sanskar, Guru Gobind Singh Introduction In Malaysia as a multi ethnicity society, the Sikh community is categorised as an ethnic minority. Their history, culture, language and religion are distinct from the Tamil community despite coming from the same subcontinent, which is India (Azharudin, 2002). The Sikhs’ migration to Malaysia as a minority, however, has not deterred them from living harmoniously alongside the three main racial groups in Malaysia, which are the Malays, Chinese and Indians. Furthermore, the Sikh community has contributed greatly to the socio-economic prosperity of Malaysia (Darshan S. Gill, 2009; Kuldip K., 2002). As a minority community with its own culture and religion, the Sikh community is a subject of interest among few academic researchers, especially in the fields of social sciences and comparative religions. However, there is little recognition towards such studies (Azharudin, 2002). According to Sarjit S. Gill (2002), the reason for this is their minority status. Another 204 www.hrmars.com International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 2017, Vol. 7, No. 8 ISSN: 2222-6990 possible reason, according to Sarjit S. Gill, is that the community is not represented in any Malaysian university department as compared to other racial groups who are being studied under the Academy of Malay Studies, the Department of Indian Studies and the Department of Chinese Studies at the University of Malaya. In addition, the weak leadership within the Sikh community could also be a contributing factor to the limited study. The aforementioned factors have thus made it difficult for other communities to understand their unique circumstances in Malaysia. Even worse still is that the public also confuses the Sikhs with the Bengalis because they had, in the past, migrated to Malaysia (formerly Malaya) on a ship from a port in Bangla, India. This was why the Sikhs from there were called the Bengalis (Azrul, 2012). The limited studies on the community have also resulted in their being known only through their turbans and long beards. In fact, wearing the turban and keeping the long beards are only for the religiously committed members of a group known as the Khalsa. The Khalsa members are devoted to other aspects of the Sikh practices such as wearing the 5K symbols, baptism, and adherence to the four Sikh religious prohibitions, among other practices. In such matters, questions can be raised about the Sikhs who do not wear the 5K, have not undergone baptism, and who break the four prohibitions: are they are part of the Khalsa? Are they given flexibility to practice their religion? What is the relationship between the two groups in the Sikh community in Malaysia? This article attempts to divulge the history of the Sikhs’ migration to Malaysia, the history of the establishment of the Khalsa, the Khalsa’s status in the Sikh religion, and the relationship between Khalsa and non-Khalsa within the Sikh community in Malaysia. Methodology This study employed qualitative methods which are textual and content analysis based om primary, secondary and tertiary sources incuding academic writings from some relevant books, journals, theses and paper work. In addtition, as a research paper, the reachers went to fieldword to collect data using interviews with two key informants namely Pritam Singh, the former president of the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia at Tititwangsa, Pahang and Dr. Taran Singh, a Sikh scholar at Gurdwara Singh at Kota Bharu in Kelantan. It was very significant to ensure the findings more reliable while analyzing the current context of phenomenon based on the primer data from the authentic sources. Results and Discussion The Migration of Sikhs to Malaysia The migration of the Sikhs, from the Punjab in the Southeast Asia region, begun during the British colonial period, which was between 1880s to 1920s. Malaysia and Singapore were among two of the Southeast Asia countries for the early Sikh settlers during the British colonial rule in Malaya (Sarjit S. Gill, 2005). In Malaysia, a majority of the Sikhs were of Punjabi descent, a community from the Punjab region of northern India. Punjab is now split into two regions: one in Pakistan and the other in India. In the Punjab region, a majority of the Sikhs came from five locations: Mahja, Malwa, Main Doabia, Doabia dan Potholar Sikh (Azrul, 2012). 205 www.hrmars.com International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 2017, Vol. 7, No. 8 ISSN: 2222-6990 The history of the Sikhs’ migration from India to other countries, including to Malaya, occurred during the British colonialism period in the nineteenth century. Their migration was an outcome of several events in India that included the British employment and liberal immigration policies that attracted them to migrate to Malaya and other Southeast Asian countries in search of opportunities. Furthermore, the state of affairs in India, which included the shortage of land, population density and the frequent natural disasters, impelled the Sikhs to migrate to other countries (Wan Ramli 2010; Harpreet K, 2011). Two migration phases of the Sikhs to Malaya are apparent: in the first phase, the migration was a result of the displacement of two political prisoners from India, Bhai Maharaj Singh and his follower Karak Singh, in July 1850. This migration was then followed by several exiled Sikh political leaders who were also sent to Malaya. In the second phase, the migration of Sikhs to Malaya was a result of their involvement in the British security force where many were assigned as police officers to protect the region under the British rule (Azrul, 2012). The first migration centre for the earliest Sikh community was the police barracks and the tin mines. It was there that the Sikhs built a synagogue, known as the gurdwara, which also became the centre for their religious activities. The first gurdwara in Malaya was built according to the working class’ needs. The first gurdwara in Malaya, built by the Sikh police officers in 1890, was located nearby the police barracks in the state of Selangor, followed by another built in 1898 in Klang. Then another was constructed in the Police Headquarter on the High Street in 1904. Several other police gurdwara followed suit, which included the Police Gurdwara in Penang, Ipoh, and the Gurdwara Police Depot and the Gurdwara Police Sahib Parliament in Kuala Lumpur (Sarjit S. Gill, 2005). At the end of the First World War, the number of Sikh immigrants to Malaya increased. Many Sikh people were employed in the security forces, became police officers, moneylenders, cattle breeders, and others. For the security officers whose services in the country expired, they were given two alternatives: either to return to Punjab, or make a living in another country (Harpreet K, 2011). According to Manickam (2009), however, many chose to continue living in Malaya. Thus, their number of Sikhs migration grew onwards beginning from the 1930s until they made Malaya their permanent residence. In the beginning, they formed a community on the West Coast of Malaya in Selangor, Penang, Perak and Wilayah Persekutuan, where they settled in the cities of Ipoh, Taiping, Kuala Lumpur and Seremban (Wan Ramli, 2010). Although their migration to Malaya began in Penang, most of their resettlement happened in Taiping Perak and later in Ipoh. Ipoh became the centre of the Sikhs’ growing population in Malaysia, especially after the establishment of the oldest Sikh organisation called the Khalsa Diwan (Azrul, 2012). Today, the Sikh community has become part of the Malaysian plural society. However, because of their minority status, the exact number of Sikhs in Malaysia are not recorded. According to the 2010 census issued by the Department of Statistics Malaysia, the exact statistics on the Sikh population is unavailable. They are grouped together with the other minority communities, or are categorised in groups as ‘other’ religion (www.statistics.gov.my). Nevertheless, a few data was found such as the official data from the Government of India that stated that 50,000 Sikhs are in Malaysia (Harjinder, 2010). Another data from the Malaysian 206 www.hrmars.com International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 2017, Vol.

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